Article of manufacture and construction thereof



3,445,949 ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE AND cous'raucwxou manner Filed D60. 19, 1965 May 27, 1969 v ROHDE.

Sheet Fig. 2.

J. J. ROHDE May 27, 1969 ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE AND'CONSTRUCTION THEREOF Filed Dec. 19, 1966 Sheet 3,445,949 ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE AND CONSTRUCTION THEREOF John J. Rohde, 2901 Penrose Drive, Richmond, Va. 23255 Filed Dec. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 602,749 Int. Cl. G09f 1/00, 19/00; B31d U.S. Cl. 40--124.1 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention A number of common articles of commerce are made today of expensive materials such as wood, metal and plastic which unduly elevate the value of such articles to an extent that they are not as widely used as feasible and desirable. Also, such articles are frequently of a permanent type construction and cannot be easily assembled or disassembled, thus leading to problems of storage and transportation after being assembled. Two such articles are sawhorses and road signs.

Sawhorses are today generally composed of wood, metal, or combinations of wood and metal. Sawhorses of this construction are not only relatively expensive but are diflicult to handle due to heavy weight and a physical configuration not readily adaptable to storage and transportation. On the other hand, sawhorses would be more widely used if they were lightweight, easily assembled and dis assembled, disposable, and capable of being labeled with inscribed or adhered advertising material, as for example, when used in retail stores.

Another article of manufacture which is relatively expensive, being composed usually of wood and metal, are road signs. Such expense frequently limits the use of temporary road signs where roads and highways are being either repaired or constructed. Thus, there is a need for road signs which can be easily transported by truck and quickly assembled at the site of the repair or construction. Such road signs should be not only inexpensive, but should be light in Weight and disposable without loss of expensive building material. The material of construction of the signs should also be easily labeled with various commonly used highways signs such as warning and caution markings.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome each of the above noted disadvantages of the prior art.

It is further an object of the present invention to provide lightweight, substantially rigid, easily assembled and disassembled articles of commerce which may be utilized among other things as road signs or as sawhorses and a method for the manufacture of same.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description thereof.

nited States Patent 3,445,949 Patented May 27, 1969 Summary of the invention The present invention provides a lightweight, substantially rigid, easily assembled and disassembled article of commerce, such as either a sawhorse or a road sign comprising at least two similar spaced pieces of substantially trapezoidal shape, and at least one multiside piece connectlng each spaced piece to fix the spaced relationship of the spaced pieces and abutting at least part of one of the parallel and one of the non-parallel edges of said each spaced piece. In a preferred embodiment the spaced pieces have relatively small extensions at up to four of the corners of each piece; said multiside piece has at least as many interior slots as there are extensions on said spaced pieces; and the extensions of said spaced pieces extend through the slots of said multiside piece. As an added refinement, at least one of the parallel edges or non-parallel edges of both of the spaced pieces is interrupted by a slot; at least one edge of the multiside piece has at least two slots; and at least part of the slots of the spaced pieces engage with at least part of the slots of the multiside piece.

The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing the above described articles which includes preparing, eg, by die-cutting, the various pieces from corrugated flute board and assembling the pieces.

Thus the present invention provides an article of manufacture which is inexpensive, lightweight, substantially rigid, and yet easily assembled and disassembled. When this article of manufacture is used as a sawhorse, it is not only thereby of valuable utility but can also be used for advertising purposes. That is, it may be used for sales promotion, thus to be given away with purchases of other articles, or, when labeled with advertising material, it can be used as a combination sawhorse-advertising means in retail stores. When this article of manufacture is used for a road sign it can be easily transported to the site of the repair or construction and quickly and easily assembled on the spot. Being composed of inexpensive corrugated flute board, it not only lends itself to wider usage than was the case with more expensive road signs of metal and wood, but also is disposable.

Brief description of the drawings Having thus set forth a brief description of the present invention, the following description of the figures of the drawing is presented in order to more fully describe the invention.

FIGURE 1 is a piece.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a multiside piece.

FIGURE 3 is a front perspective view of an assembled article of manufacture of the present invention.

plan view of a trapezoidal support Description of the preferred embodiments seen, extensions 2 are preferably trangular in shape and represent an extension of the support piece beyond the bounds of the trapezoidal shape. In a preferred embodiment, the article of manufacture of the present invention has at least two support pieces which, in the finished article, are preferably arranged in substantially aligned and parallel position. It is of course not necessary that the support pieces be aligned or parallel; it is evident that the pieces can be substantially non-parallel and/or nonaligned and still produce an article within the bounds of the present invention.

Preferably the support pieces are made of corrugated flute board, as are all the other parts of the article of manufacture of the present invention, but any or all of the various pieces can be made of other lightweight rigid materials, for example, plastic or fiber board. The support piece may be of a single-wall thickness of corrugated flute board or may be of a rnulti-wall thickness. The greater the strength which is desired, the more pieces of corrugated flute board there can be utilized, either in multi-wall thicknesses or as separate pieces.

Slots 3 in the support pieces are utilized as means for attaching multiside pieces, which will be described hereinbelow. When using two multiside pieces it is desirable to have at least two slots, as is shown in the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1. However, either of the slots may be dispensed with when using a single multiside piece which wraps around the complete or substantially the complete trapezoidal support piece. Of course, the slots need not be located on the parallel edges but can be on the nonparallel edges of the support pieces. It is apparent that support piece 1 may be provided with more than two exterior slots 3 where it is desirable that the multiside pieces not cover all of either the top or bottom parallel edges or the non-parallel edges of the support pieces. That is, for example, the top of support piece 1 could have two slots 3, both closely adjacent to top extensions 2; when the multiside piece was assembled with the support piece, the interior of the article of manufacture of the present invention would be left at least partially open from the top. On the other hand, the bottom or sides could be provided with a similar arrangement. Naturally, such an arrangement does not provide an article of the strength of that shown in the preferred embodiment of FIG- URES 1-3.

FIGURE 2 is drawn to a rectangular piece, in the preferred embodiment, which is herein called a multiside piece. This part of the article of manufacture of the present invention abuts at least part of one of the nonparallel edges and at least part of one of the parallel edges of the spaced trapezoidal support pieces. The preferred embodiment, as depicted in FIGS. 1-3, requires at least two of the multiside pieces of FIG. 2 to form the article of manufacture of FIG. 3 of the present invention. However, it is possible to use several multiside pieces or a single multiside piece which would be about twice the length of the multiside piece shown in FIG. 2. Multiside piece is composed of several different sides or panels when assembled to form the article of manufacture, hence the name multiside piece. Side 11 of the multiside piece 10 abuts one of the non-parallel edges of the support piece 1. Top side 12 covers part of one of the parallel edges, the top edge actually, of the support piece. Side 13 is concealed when the article is completely assembled inasmuch as it folds into slot 3 of the support piece. Bottom side 14 of the multiside piece covers the other of the two parallel edges, the bottom edge, of the trapezoidal support piece. Side 15, like side 13, is concealed from view in the finished article inasmuch as it folds into the bottom slot 3 of the support piece. Fold lines 16 are shown dotted in FIG. 2; such fold lines may preferably be formed by precreasing the preferred material of construction, corrugated flute board. Multiside piece 10 is shown with two types of slots, both interior slots 17 and exterior slots 18 which are comparable to slots 3 of the trapezoidal support piece 1.

In the assembly of the present article of manufacture, triangular extensions 2 extend through interior slots 17 and exterior slots 18 engagingly interlock with slots 3 of the trapezoidal support piece. There may be double the number of interior slots 17 as shown in the preferred embodiment of FIG. 2 when a single multiside piece is employed to cover all or substantially all of the edges of the trapezoidal support piece 1. Where more than two support pieces are employed, it is evident that additional exterior slots 18 are likewise required. If the support piece 1 has a bottom slot 3, then the slots of a singular multiside piece must be located on side 15. On the other hand, if the support piece has an upper slot 3 with no lower slot 3, then the exterior slots 12 of a singular multiside piece must be located on side 13.

It is evident in view of the description of various alternative embodiments of support piece 1, supra, that the multiside piece need not cover all of the parallel edges of the support piece 1. That is, either or both of the parallel edges and/or either or both of the non-parallel edges of the support pieces may be left substantially uncovered so that the interior of the article of manufacture of the present invention may be left open from the top and/or bottom and/or sides. Where an opening is left, a lid or cover may be provided which conveniently engagingly interlocks with slots 3 along with the multiside piece or pieces.

The multiside piece in FIG. 2 has been shown as being substantially rectangular. However, it is apparent that shapes other than rectangular are suitable for the practice of the present invention; that is, the part of the multiside piece forming the ends of the finished article may be of any of a number of different configurations which would not give a squared-off end to the finished article.

FIGURE 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the article of manufacture of the present invention in its assembled form. Thus, it is apparent that to assemble the article, extensions 2 are extended through slots 17 and slots 3 are engagingly interlocked with exterior slots 18. It is evident that the preferred embodiment shown assembled in FIG. 3 provides an article of manufacture of greater strength than the other embodiments which have been described hereinabove. However, where it is desired to save either on time necessary for construction or on materials of construction, the alternative embodiments can be utilized with advantage.

Given the finished article on FIG. 3, it is evident that the sides of the multiside piece or support piece may be labeled with any of a number of different designs. Such labeling may be by inscription, as with ink, paint, etc., or by adherence of a distinct decorative material, such as a film, poster, etc. For that matter, the various pieces of the article may be in different colors or possess any of numerous other obvious decorative effects. Among the designs which it is anticipated might be desired on the present article of manufacture are advertisements, where the article is intended to be used as a combination sawhorse-advertising means, or with a species of warning or hazard sign where the article is intended to be used as a road sign. Particularly when used as a road sign, it may be desired to use a luminescent design. Where the present invention is utilized as a sawhorse, it may be desirable to weight the article when in use, as with sandbags, loose soil or gravel, etc.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A light weight, substantially rigid, easily assembled and disassembled article of manufacture comprising at least two spaced apart, facingly aligned blanks, each of substantially trapezoidal shape, having relatively small extensions on at least part of the corners of each, with each of the parallel edges interrupted by a slot; at least 3,445,949 5 6 two additional blanks, each of substantially rectangular References Cited shape and foldable so that each rectangular blank abuts UNITED STATES PATENTS each trapezoidal blank on one non-parallel edge and adjacent parts of both parallel edges up to the slots therein, 2,115,181 4/1938 Shaplro with opposite ends of each parallel blank extending into 2,316,050 4/1943 Coyle opposed slots in each trapezoidal :blank and interlocking 5 2,767,855 10/1956 Brown 229 15 X With corresponding slots in each rectangular blank, each 2,880,534 4/1959 Lund 4O 124-1 rectangular blank also having slots corresponding to the EUGENE R APOZIO, Primary E mi r, gritgtsggis in each trapezoldal blank WhlCh extend through RICHARD CARTER, Assistant Examiner.

2. The articles of claim 1 wherein at least some of 10 U.S.CI.X.R.

the blanks are corrugated flute board. 40126; 931 

